5 June–19 October 2025

Engel building

Darkness Is Full of Light marks the artist Jukka Korkeila’s (b. 1968) return to his childhood hometown. This retrospective exhibition presents artworks from the beginning of the artist’s career up to the present day. Among them are works rarely or never before seen in Finland. ”It is a group exhibition with myself ”, Korkeila describes.

Jukka Korkeila uses his art to explore human sexuality and the experiences of sexual minorities with characteristic directness. At the same time, religion and spirituality, and especially his Orthodox faith, play a powerful role across his output. Korkeila’s art seeks to enrich the viewer’s experience and to provide fresh insights into what it means to be human. It is an opportunity to encounter something entirely unexpected.

Over the course of his three-decade career, Korkeila has exhibited widely both at home and internationally. He is also the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Finnish State Prize for the Visual Arts in 2019. The artist currently divides his time between Germany and Finland.

The work of Jukka Korkeila and this exhibition are generously supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland. Further valuable support for the exhibition has been provided by the Finnish Heritage Agency and the Kimmo Kaivanto Foundation.

This exhibition is complemented by Darkness Is Full of Light publication, a collection of articles by cultural and literary scholar Livia Hekanaho, art historian Juha-Heikki Tihinen and Jukka Korkeila. It is published in collaboration with Artbear Books. We are grateful to Frame Contemporary Art Finland and the Oskar Öflund Foundation for their generous support.